Brazil condemns Israel for removing 40,000 Palestinians from West Bank
The Brazilian government has expressed concern and condemned the use of tanks in Israel’s military operations in the West Bank that led to the forced removal of 40 thousand Palestinians.
For the first time in 20 years, the Israeli army used tanks to evict Palestinians in the occupied territories of the West Bank.
“The Brazilian government expresses strong concern about the escalation of Israeli military operations in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Al-Shams, in the north of the West Bank in recent weeks and condemns the recent use of tanks and military occupation,” a note from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry reads.
On Sunday (Feb. 23), Israel conducted a new military operation in the West Bank. “In this connection, [the Brazilian government] deplores the forced removal of some 40 thousand residents from those camps, in violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” the ministry added.
Brazil also called for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to be allowed to continue its activities in the region and noted that the International Court of Justice of the United Nations has already ruled that the Israeli presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal.
Ban
The Israeli government has announced it has banned UNRWA—which it accuses of “supporting terrorism”—from operating in these locations. The Tel Aviv authorities also say they will not allow Palestinians expelled from their homes to return.
“We will not allow the residents to return [or] terror to return to flourish,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. The Tel-Aviv government claims the efforts are aimed at fighting terrorism.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry of the Palestinian Authority, which controls part of the West Bank, said that Israel seeks to annex the Palestinian territories.
“The ministry views these developments—including Katz’s statements, the deployment of tanks, and the deliberate intimidation of defenseless civilians—as a grave escalation in the West Bank and a flagrant attempt to entrench genocide and forced displacement against our unarmed people,” Palestinian authorities in the West Bank stated, further urging the international community to intervene.
